Art Actuel

Vivienne Strauss and Matte Stephens are an artist duo who live and work in Bowling Green, KY with their three cats and three dogs. She has been a full-time artist since 2008. While not formally trained, she has a background in philosophy, is an avid reader, cinephile, and nature lover. Unable to confine her expressions to a single medium, Strauss works in oils, watercolors, paper and glue, needle and thread, digital photography, and the typed word. She sells worldwide, and has shown in Seattle, WA, Portland, OR, Los Angeles, CA, Tokyo, Japan, Manchester, UK, Portsmouth, NH, Peterborough, NH, Groton, MA, New York, NY, and Nashville, TN. Her work has been featured in/on: The Observer/Guardian, Spirituality & Health Magazine, Home & Garden, House Beautiful/Turkey, Uppercase Magazine, NightBlock Magazine, The Jealous Curator, Brainpickings, Northern Woods Magazine, Collage Memory Game (produced in Germany for museum gift shops), Indie Craft by Jo Waterhouse, Edgy Cute by Harry Sailor, Design Sponge, SF Girl by Bay, Craft Magazine, Martha Stewart, The Weight of Love by Rusudan Rukhadze, Croque Monsieur by Ray Parnac, Femmes Contre Nature by Lea Godard, Kronkel’s by Simon Carmiggelt, The Great Escape-Andy Bilinski (musician), and Little Birds, big adventures. Some of her notable patrons include: the International Center of Photography, Vogue Photography Tim Walker, Director/Producer/Comedian/Writer Judd Apatow, Actress Lesley Mann, Actress Toni Collette, and the Mindy Project. When Matte is not painting, he enjoys playing Ping-pong, watching a good film, and hiking in the lovely Kentucky woods. Matte has been a painter of pictures his entire adult life and has never had a job that he has left his house for. He was worked with galleries and companies all over the world, including Tiffany and CO, American Express, Herman Miller, Kids Can Press, Uppercase Magazine, Jonathan Adler, Oxford University Press, ABC, IBM, The Oxford American, Sunset Magazine, The Boston Globe, Die Weltwoche, NPR, Chronicle Books, Disney, Editions Alto, Velocity Art and Design, Woodmanstern, Modern Twist, The Andez Hotel, Ipop, Marian Health, Hambly & Wolley, Tony Chi, Grand Hyatt, Penguin Random House, Penelope Francis, Go Coffee Go, Gibbs Smith, Urban Outfitters, Spirituality and Health, and Scholastic, just to name a few! You can see more of Vivienne and Matte's work at viviennestrauss.com and mattestephens.net or on their instagrams, viv_strauss and matte_stephens Featured at the Downing Museum until September 30 are Vivienne's work, Octopus Oenephile and Matte's Post Apocalyptic First Period American House 

Andrew Peña is a photographer living in Bowling Green, KY. Spending time growing up between Kentucky and California, Andrew's work reflects his passion for travel, exploration, and experimentation. His exhibition, Nightlionn, is open at the Downing Museum through June 9, 2022. For more information about Andrew's work, please check out: https://www.instagram.com/nightlionn/ Pictured: Aftermath, 2021, Andrew Peña, digital photography This episode was produced by Jack LeSIeur at the Downing Museum at Baker Arboretum, operated by the Jerry E. Baker Foundation, Inc.

Charles Forrester was the master of the visual pun and comes to life through his legacy-sculptures, paintings and drawings, and journals. He was especially adept at working with the human figure, creating abstracted figurative forms in materials ranging from welded steel to laminated-plywood. His engineering prowess is reflected in his kinetic sphere sculptures and wire suspension works. His artwork captured startlingly realistic details, yet his works are highly stylized-often twisted into sly visual puzzles and riddles. As a university professor for 30 years in England and Kentucky, with roots in New York and the Pacific Northwest, he directly impacted generations of sculptors and artists. Forrester grew up in New York City and received his Master of Fine Arts at the University of Oregon in 1960. He taught sculpture at the University of Salford in England and Western Kentucky University, where he was a long-time beloved professor. Forrester also maintained a studio in the artists’ haven of eclectic East Nashville for the last 12 years of his life. “As children, my brother and I always knew our family was different from others. We lived a bohemian lifestyle fueled by creativity and frugality. Our father, Charles Forrester, built the family’s furniture using plywood and black paint, while sculpture was stacked all over the house and yard. We moved frequently and for a time, we lived on a boat in Union Bay, Seattle and spent summers living at lookout fire stations in the Northwester wilderness. Over the years, our family frequently traveled to foreign countries living in cheap pensions while our father found inspiration for his creativity in their architecture and culture.” -Winifred Forrester- More information about Charles Forrester and his work can be found at: https://www.charlesforrester.com/ Join us for a screening of the award-winning documentary film, A Line Unbroken: The Charles Forrester Story will be held at the Capitol Arts Center on September 16, at 6 PM.  A discussion will be held afterwards with the artist’s daughter, Winifred Forrester; WKU Art Historian, Guy Jordon; and former student and sculptor, Russ Faxon. The documentary has a fully illustrated companion art book, A Mind in Motion: The Art of Charles H. Forrester, published in 2020. With insight from art historians and contemporary artists, the film and art book explore his compelling life story and six decades of artwork. This showing is presented by Folly Industries, The Warren County Public Library, and the Downing Museum. You may reserve your free tickets HERE. This episode was produced by Jack LeSIeur at the Downing Museum at Baker Arboretum, operated by the Jerry E. Baker Foundation, Inc.

Emily Lobb Hendricksen is a native Kentucky artist, currently living in her hometown of Brownsville with her fellow artist husband and three dogs. She has created art ever since she was a small child, and pursued a career in the arts as an adult. She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a bachelor's in art studio, and also from WKU with a bachelor's in Art History. She is currently finishing her Masters in Arts Administration from the University of Kentucky, while working as the Artist-in-Residence for the Downing Museum in Bowling Green, Ky. The main medium she works in is analog collage with themes of surrealism. Her imagery comments on social issues, psychological constructs, and fairytale/fantasy components. She still enjoys painting, drawing, and occasionally photography. In her free time, when not creating art, she enjoys playing for her local roller derby team, and participates in strongman training at a local gym. Pictured: Always With Me, 2020 You can view Emily's artwork on her instagram page @emily_lh_art This episode was produced by Jack LeSIeur at the Downing Museum at Baker Arboretum, operated by the Jerry E. Baker Foundation, Inc.

"I am a realist painter, working primarily in oil. I strive to paint accurately, as the term realism implies, but always with the emotion that each subject I choose evokes, whether human, animal, landscape, still life, exterior or interior...in friends, wildlife, landscapes, restaurants, street scenes, gestures, nature...even in traffic...My job is to bring these images to life; capturing as much emotion of each moment with a brush, some paint and some turpentine." Pictured: Firecracker, 18" x 24", oil on canvas You can view Bonnie McBain's work at www.bonniemcbain.com This episode was produced by Jack LeSIeur at the Downing Museum at Baker Arboretum, operated by the Jerry E. Baker Foundation, Inc.

Vivienne Strauss has been a full-time artist since 2008. While she is not formally trained as an artist, she has a background in philosophy, is an avid reader, cinephile and nature lover. Her time spent when not creating is sharing a life with husband and artist, Matte Stephens. They co-parent a household of pets, now including two cats and three dogs. Unable to confine her expressions to a single medium, Strauss works in oils, watercolors, paper and glue, needle and thread, digital photography and the typed word. She sells worldwide, and has shown in Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; Los Angeles, CA; Tokyo, Japan; Manchester, UK; Portsmouth, NH; Peterborough, NH; Groton, MA; New York, NY; Nashville, TN; Her work has been featured in: The Observer/Guardian Spirituality & Health Magazine Home & Garden House Beautiful/Turkey Uppercase Magazine NightBlock Magazine The Jealous Curator Brainpickings Northern Woods Magazine Collage Memory Game (produced in Germany for museum gift shops) Indie Craft by Jo Waterhouse Edgy Cute by Harry Sailor Design Sponge SF Girl by Bay Craft Magazine Martha Stewart Book and CD covers: The Weight of Love by Rusudan Rukhadze Croque Monsieur by Ray Parnac Femmes Contre Nature by Lea Godard Kronkel’s by Simon Carmiggelt The Great Escape - Andy Bilinski, musician Some of her earlier bird collages were published in 2015 Little birds, big adventures Patrons include: International Center of Photography Tim Walker, Vogue Photographer Judd Apatow, Director/Producer/Comedian/Writer Lesley Mann, Actress Toni Collette, Actress The Mindy Project Most of my work is the product of allowing my mind wander- I find inspiration everywhere - in nature, in the books I read, the movies I watch and just allowing myself to be as silly as I please. The first collage I created with birds in cars almost didn’t happen because it “didn’t make sense”. My mantra while I work now is “it doesn’t have to make sense” - because how boring would art be if it did? I never thought the birds in cars would become a recurring theme when I started - now I’ve created over 500 bird collages (not all of them include cars). With collage work I try to keep my mind open and keep the process spontaneous. I generally try several layouts before committing to glue. I like working with vintage ephemera and magazines from the late 1800s up through the early 1970s. The majority of my work has a humorous quality and for the most part, I create a world I would like to inhabit rather than depicting the current time. I love a play on words, I love improbable situations. The humans who show up in my work have a quirkiness that is hard to define. I don’t really “do” smiles on my human subjects, if I do, they are generally subtle and sardonic. Vivienne's work can be viewed and purchased at www.viviennestrauss.com. Pictured: She Was Given to Little Flights of Fancy This episode was produced by Jack LeSIeur at the Downing Museum at Baker Arboretum, operated by the Jerry E. Baker Foundation, Inc.